Foot spa with remote control features

ABSTRACT

A foot spa and a method for controlling the foot spa is provided. The foot spa has a housing defining a reservoir for locating feet, a remote control unit for controlling a function of the foot spa by transmitting a control signal to the foot spa via wireless communication, and a receiver located in or on the housing for receiving the control signal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a foot spa. More particularly,the present invention relates to a foot spa having a remote control unitfor controlling the operation of the foot spa.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] In the prior art, there are known foot therapy massagers forproviding a variety of vibrating massage sensations, both with orwithout liquid, and aerated bubble massage sensations, either alone orin combination. Generally, a common objective in the prior art devicesis to provide relief to a user by providing soothing, therapeuticstimuli to the user's feet.

[0005] However, operation of the prior art foot therapy devices ischaracterized by inconvenience and requires manipulation of controlslocated on the foot therapy devices. Thus, any soothing, and relaxingtherapeutic benefit(s) gained by use of the foot therapy device mustnecessarily be interrupted in order to control the device.

[0006] Therefore, there exists a need to provide a foot spa that iseasily controlled and operated, unencumbered or limited by controlslocated or attached to the foot spa therapy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide a foot spahaving remote activation and control capabilities.

[0008] It is another object of the present invention to provide a footspa that communicates with the receiver located in the foot spa using awireless communication protocol.

[0009] It is still another object of the present invention to providesuch a foot spa having a remote control unit that facilitatescontrolling operation of the foot spa by functions accessed thereby,while maintaining the relaxing context induced by the operation of thefoot spa.

[0010] It is a further object of the present invention to provide such afoot spa in which the remote control unit includes a program foroperating the foot spa via a control signal generated by the remotecontrol unit and transmitted to a receiver located in the foot spa.

[0011] It is still a further object of the present invention to providesuch to a foot spa that has a housing defining a reservoir for retaininga volume of liquid, a lid partially covering a portion of the reservoir,a wireless remote control unit for generating a signal for controlling aplurality of functions of the foot spa, and a receiver for receiving thecontrol signal.

[0012] The above and other objects, advantages, and benefits of thepresent invention will be understood by reference to following detaileddescription and appended sheets of drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013]FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a foot spa having a remotecontrol unit in accordance with the present invention;

[0014]FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of a plurality of attachments foruse in conjunction with the foot spa shown in FIG. 1; and

[0015]FIG. 3 is a top view of the exemplary remote control unit shown inFIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Referring to the drawings and in particular FIG. 1, there isprovided a foot spa generally represented by reference numeral 10. Thefoot spa 10 has a housing 20. Housing 20 has a floor or bottom wall 22,sidewalls 24 (including a front sidewall, not shown), and a top or topwall 26, with the bottom wall and sidewalls, and preferably all three,defining a reservoir 28 for the placement of feet for therapeuticmassaging therein and for optionally containing liquid.

[0017] Housing 20 has a number of massage nodules 30 that extend frombottom wall 24, a number of aeration outlets 34 that are positionedthrough the bottom wall, a pair of rollers 36 positioned over someaeration outlets, a heel rest 38 positioned on top 26, and a receiver 52positioned preferably on the uppermost portion of the top. Housing 10also preferably has an attachment receptor 39, preferably positioned ontop 26, for receiving a foot stimulus attachment 42 therein. Housing 20also preferably has a remote control unit receptacle 50 for receivingremote control unit 70 of foot spa 10.

[0018] Each roller 15 is detachably affixed to bottom wall 22 forselectively providing therapeutic stimuli to feet placed in reservoir 28of foot spa 10. Rollers 15 have a movable, rolling portion for providinga kneading sensation as a foot is moved thereupon, and aeration outlets34 for dispensing of invigorating air bubbles (if water is in thereservoir and a “bubbles” function is activated).

[0019] In a preferred embodiment, attachment receptor 39 has a spinningfoot stimulus attachment 42 that is removably disposed in the attachmentreceptor for, at a user's option, providing therapeutic stimulus to afoot placed thereupon. Heel rest 38 is provided to facilitate theplacement of the foot on spinning attachment 40 by providing aslip-resistant surface for the foot. Spinning attachment 40 ispreferably activated, that is, set into a spinning motion, upon beingdepressed.

[0020]FIG. 2 shows three exemplary spinning attachments 40 for use inconjunction with foot spa 10. These spinning attachments 40 include abrush 42, a pumice stone 44, and a massager 46. However, other spinningattachments 40 known in the art can be used in connection with foot spa10.

[0021] Housing 20 also may have a vibration mechanism (not shown) forimparting a vibratory motion to bottom wall 22. It will be appreciatedby those skilled in the art that any of the known methods suitable forgenerating a vibratory motion in a foot spa may be used in foot spa 10and are thus fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0022] Housing 20 preferably has a cover 21 that is removably secured totop 26, for covering, preferably partially, reservoir 28. Cover 21promotes containment of water in foot spa 10 when water is depositedtherein. Cover 21 also facilitates easy insertion and removal of feetfrom foot spa 10. Water deposited in foot spa 10 is optionallycirculated by a motor driven pump (not shown) housed in the interior ofhousing 20. The pump draws water from reservoir 28 into the pump throughan inlet 80 and expels water into the reservoir via a “jetting” actionthrough water jet 85. Water jet 85 preferably has dual outlets that maybe selectively positioned by the user and directed in a desireddirection. The pump used by foot spa 10 may have any number or varietyof pumps suitably sized and rated for application in the foot spa of thepresent invention.

[0023] Foot spa 10 has an aeration system that includes a liquidcirculation network having the pump discussed above, and one or moreventuri mixers (not shown), all preferably retained in the portion ofhousing 20 located underneath heel rest 38. The circulation network hasaeration outlets 34 opening into reservoir 28. Air is preferably drawninto foot spa 10 via an air inlet(s) located on the bottom of foot spa10, with water being drawn from the reservoir via water inlet 80.

[0024] Air and water is provided to the venturi mixers by a network ofpipes or in connection in air/fluid communication with the air and waterinlets. The water/air mixture is routed to the aeration outlets 34 forthe provisioning of invigorating air bubbles into reservoir 28.

[0025] In an embodiment of the present invention, operation of foot spa10 is greatly enhanced by remote control unit 70. Remote control unit 70has an internal power source (preferably batteries) and associatedelectronic circuitry for wirelessly transmitting a control signal toreceiver 28 located in or on-board foot spa 10. Remote control unit 70enhances foot spa 10 since the controls necessary to activate, control,and deactivate the various operational functions of the foot spa, areaccessed and conveniently packaged in the remote control unit. Thus, oneusing foot spa 10 can control the various operations of the foot spawithout impeding the relaxing context induced by operation of the footspa. Wireless communication between remote control unit 70 and foot spa10 may be accomplished using infrared, radio frequency (RF), or anyother wireless communication protocol.

[0026]FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary remote control unit 70 havingportions 72 and 74. Remote control unit 70 is adapted to sit in remotecontrol unit receptacle 50 of foot spa 10. Portions 72 and 74 aredetachably connected together for facilitating access to, for example,batteries located therein and for replacement of the same.Advantageously, portions 72 and 74 fit together in a watertight fashionto provide remote control unit 70 resistant to the penetration of water.Also, remote control unit 70 floats when disposed in water. Functioncontrols located on, and thus controlling associated functions of footspa 10 include, for example, on/off control 75, vibration control 76,bubble control 77, water-jet control 78, and program control 79.

[0027] In brief, on/off control 75 is sequentially depressed toactivate/deactivate operation of foot spa 10. Vibration control 76 issequentially depressed to activate/deactivate the vibratory mechanism offoot spa 10. Bubble control 77 is sequentially depressed toactivate/deactivate the aerated bubbling function of foot spa 10.Water-jet control 78 is sequentially depressed to activate/deactivatethe water “jetting” function of foot spa 10. Thus, complete control ofthe functional operation of foot spa 10 can be accomplished withouthaving to manipulate controls located on the foot spa. Activation ordeactivation of a particular function commences generation of a controlsignal that is transmitted to and received by receiver 28. The controlsignal received by receiver 28 is processed to effectuate the associatedfunction.

[0028] In a significant aspect of the present foot spa 10, functionalcontrols can be entirely eliminated from housing 20. Remote control unit70 obviates the need to locate function control(s) on the housing offoot spa 10, as well as eliminating the inconvenience and necessity ofbending over to access and manipulate foot spa controls situated onhousing 20. Thus, the therapeutic benefits realized from using foot spa10 need not be interrupted in order to stop, adjust, or continueoperation of the foot spa.

[0029] In another aspect of the present invention, program control 79may be sequentially depressed in order to activate/deactivate anautomated, programmed sequence of foot spa functions (e.g., vibration,bubble, and water-jet). The program may be predetermined (i.e., factorydefault) or selectively programmed by a user. In either event, theprogram may be associated with a time component that determines thelength of time the program operates.

[0030] It should be appreciated that the function controls discussedabove are exemplary of the foot spa of the present invention and do notpreclude the inclusion, exclusion, and combination of other foot spafunction controls.

[0031] It should also be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatthe particular foot spa functions and other aspects of the teachingsherein are but examples of the present invention. Thus, they do notlimit the scope or variety of applications that the present inventionmay be suitably implemented. Thus, it should be understood that theforegoing description is only illustrative of a present implementationof the teachings herein. Various alternatives and modification may bedevised by those skilled in the art without departing from theinvention. Accordingly, the present invention is intended to embrace allsuch alternatives, modifications, and variances that fall within thescope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A foot spa comprising: a housing defining areservoir for locating feet; a receiver located in or on the housing forreceiving a control signal; and a remote control unit for controlling afunction of the foot spa by transmitting the control signal to the footspa via wireless communication.
 2. The foot spa of claim 1, wherein thefunction is selected from a group consisting of vibration, bubble, andwater-jet.
 3. The foot spa of claim 1, wherein the function is a programfunction for initiating execution of at least one function associatedwith the foot spa.
 4. The foot spa of claim 3, wherein the programfunction initiates a plurality of functions associated with the foot spain an automated sequence.
 5. The foot spa of claim 3, wherein the atleast one function is predetermined.
 6. The foot spa of claim 3, whereinthe at least one function is selectively determined.
 7. The foot spa ofclaim 4, wherein the plurality of functions are predetermined.
 8. Thefoot spa of claim 4, wherein the plurality of functions are selectivelydetermined.
 9. The foot spa of claim 1, wherein the remote control unithas controls for controlling operation of the foot spa.
 10. The foot spaof claim 1, wherein the control signal is transmitted using acommunication protocol selected from the group consisting of infrared,radio frequency, and sonic transmission.
 11. The foot spa of claim 1,further comprising a lid to at least partially enclose the reservoir.12. The foot spa of claim 1, wherein the remote control unit has twoportions that fit together in a watertight fashion to provide resistanceto the penetration of water.
 13. The foot spa of claim 1, wherein theremote control unit floats when in water.
 14. The foot spa of claim 1,wherein the remote control unit has one or more controls selected fromthe group consisting of on/off control, vibration control, bubblecontrol, water-jet control, and program control.
 15. The foot spa ofclaim 1, wherein the remote control unit has an on/off control, avibration control, a bubble control, a water-jet control, and a programcontrol.
 16. A method for controlling a foot spa, said method comprisingthe steps of: transmitting a control signal from a remote control unitto the foot spa via wireless communication, wherein the remote controlunit controls a function of the foot spa; and receiving the controlsignal by a receiver located in or on a housing of the foot spa; andprocessing the received control signal to effectuate execution of thefunction.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising a step ofselecting the function from a group consisting of vibration, bubble, andwater-jet.
 18. The method of claim 16, further comprising a step ofactivating, from the remote control unit, a program function forinitiating execution of at least one function associated with the footspa.
 19. The method of claim 16, further comprising a step of activatinga program function for initiating execution of a plurality of functionsassociated with the foot spa.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein thestep of transmitting a control signal controls all of the functions ofthe foot spa.